Genuine, hand-knotted oriental rugs are often considered a true work of art. While China and India produce many of the newer rugs in the American market, Iran and the Caucasus mountain range of the southern Soviet Union was at one time the leading rug weaving regions of the world. Hand-knotted rugs have been around almost as long as colonized human civilizations and many of the rugs woven today are made in a similar manner. There are many reasons oriental rugs are so expensive compared to a machine-made rug, and the quality and value of a genuine rug far surpass those of lesser rugs.
Genuine oriental rugs are woven by hand on a loom, which can be adapted and will be a little larger than the size of the rug being woven. The warp strings, or the strings that stretch lengthwise on the loom, are an important part of the foundation of the rug. These strings are usually cotton because the wool used in creating the pile of the rug will draw tightly and adhere to the cotton when tied.
Textile weaving is an ancient art. In early times as well as now, a large number of warp threads or yarns are supported on a loom at spaced locations across the width of the fabric to be woven. A shuttle passes laterally through the warp yarns carrying a weft yarn. Multiple passes of the shuttle creates a woven fabric wherein each weft yarn weaves through the warp yarns.
When the warp of the rug-to-be is secure, the weaver will begin tying the actual knots that will create the soft pile of the rug. He will use a carefully designed drawing of the rug that has been colored onto a grid. Each square in the grid represents a knot, and the colored designs on his drawing let him know when to change colors of wool being used. He will begin by tying a knot using wool thread around two of the warp strings, sliding it down to the base of the warp strings tightly, and he then will cut the excess thread with a knife. He will continue doing this all the way across the base of the warp until a complete row of knots has been woven. The weaver will then guide another single string called a weft across the warp, and beat it tightly down upon the row of knots he has woven with a heavy metal comb. This assures that the rug will remain taught and even throughout the entire weaving process.
Once a horizontal row has been created, the weaver will begin a new row and follow the colored drawing of the rug to know when to use a new color. An efficient weaver may tie well over one hundred knots in about five minutes or so. But the entire process of creating just one row of knots can take many hours, especially if the rug is large. This weaving goes on hour after hour and day after day until the rug is complete, which may be a significant amount of time. For instance, a 6′×9′ rug may take four to six months to complete, so the labor is very intense.
Other types of yarns may also be joined to the warp yarns. In the ancient art of Oriental rug weaving, pile yarns are manually tied or otherwise joined to the warp yarns according to a certain scheme. For example, two weft yarns may be interwoven with the warp yarns, and then individual pile yarns may be tied to adjacent pairs of warp yarns using a particular knot. Two more weft yarns may then be interwoven before the next row of pile yarns is tied. Other schemes may also be used. In woven fabrics in general, yarns which are interwoven with or joined to the warp yarns are collectively known as “filling” yarns. When the fabric is an oriental rug, the filling yarns include the weft yarns and the pile yarns.
In order to weave a relatively dense fabric, the filling yarns must be compressed tightly against the already woven portion of the fabric. This is accomplished by using a comb-like structure or “reed” having teeth or “dents” which are spaced apart so as to fit between adjacent warp yarns. The teeth of the reed are urged against the filling yarns to compress them against the woven portion of the fabric. This process is known as “beating up” the filling yarns against the “fell” of the fabric.
There are numerous methods and looms for forming patterned rugs or carpets, woven or tufted, of different designs in which various areas of the rug have different characteristics. Different colored patterns may be formed in pile rugs by utilizing different colored yarns in different areas. Special looms with Jacquard or Dobby attachments, or tufting machines with pattern drums or other types of pattern controls, may be utilized for forming pile rugs having different patterns, distinguished by color, texture, pile height, yarn material, cut or uncut loops, or other characteristics.
When the rug has been completely woven, it is cut from the loom and scrutinized very carefully for flaws. The fringes often seen at the ends of the rug are the actual ends of the warp strings, and may sometimes be braided by the weaver. If the rug has been successfully woven, it is then fine-tuned. Other workers in the rug trade will make sure the pile of the rug is completely even, and will trim any areas of the pile that may need it. The rug is then lightly washed in water to thoroughly clean its surfaces, and to bleed any excess dye from the wool used in making the rug. Some rugs are “tea washed” after they have been woven in a mixture of tea like colorings, which will slightly dye the whole rug and give it a more mellow color overall. Excess water is then extracted from the rug, and it is allowed to dry thoroughly to avoid creating a rot in the rug.
An authentic oriental rug is a handmade carpet that is either knotted with pile or woven without pile. While each of these techniques has met with some success, the techniques to determine the pattern are quite complex and labor intensive, so the finished products tend to be expensive.
Today the high-end rugs from Nepal, China and India are becoming more in vogue. These rugs are unique in the sense that they are hand-woven using part of the design with pile or loop and the field being flat woven with an appearance like the Somack or Tapestry weaves. This type of weaving gives the pattern of an embossed or raised effect. The price for this look is approximately $12.00 to $50.00 per square foot wholesale, depending on the weave and materials used. This type of rug would have a retail price of $25.00 to $100.00 per square foot. The current cost of this style and other styles of hand woven rugs puts them out of range for most buyers. Therefore, a need exists for a high quality rug that can be produced efficiently at lower costs while still offering the quality associated with known rugs.